Etceterini

In 1936, a Paris dentist, Dr. Paulin, with help from a Peugeot dealer, Emile Darl’Mat, conceived and built a sports car based on the Peugeot 302. Named the Peugeot 302 DS (for Darl’Mat Sport), it was offered in three body styles: coupe, cabriolet and roadster. In 1937, three or four lightweight alloy roadsters were produced and entered at Le Mans, where they surprisingly finished 7th, 8th and 10th overall.About 104 “street” examples of the DS were produced, and Read More

This astonishing machine has remained complete and original in its condition as last raced in 1964, and has been in single ownership since purchased by the vendor in 1966. It is a time-warp example of the rare Type 60, being the first full production car after the construction of the prototype, which had subsequently been uprated by the factory to Tipo 61 specification the following year. It remains in running condition even today, 35 years later, yet showing every Read More

Some of the most exciting and flamboyant sports cars in history were produced in Paris and its surrounding areas through the first half of the 20th century. Delahaye, Delage, Talbot Lago and Panhard were some of the great marques that called this area home. However, performance and the French government’s extreme postwar taxation of higher horsepower vehicles did not mix. As a result, French performance vehicles were literally killed off by the mid 1950s.Jean Daninos was an industrialist Read More

As Classic & Sports Car said in 1993: “The Italia may be one of the most gorgeously-styled cars ever made, but you may never have heard of it. The Italia is one of life’s great mysteries; it’s an especially beautiful car. It also looks curiously familiar… a touch of the Nembo Ferrari, or a NART Spyder, especially the grille. The only identification is two small badges, on the flanks, that say Carrozzeria IM and are adorned with rampant bull Read More

At the end of 1961 there was a revolt of the palace guard at Maranello, and among many who left was Dr. Ing. Giotto Bizzarrini, acknowledged as the father of the 250 Testa Rossa and the 250 GTO. After leaving Ferrari, he designed the 350 GT V12 for Lamborghini, and then went to work for Dottore Renzo Rivolta. From his prolific drafting board emerged a front-engined, space-framed, alloy-bodied coupe called, at first, the Grifo A3C and later the 5300 Read More

Following their competition success with the sports-racing A6GCS models through 1953, in 1954, Maserati introduced a second series for a production run of road-going sports and coupe designs on a similar chassis. The twin-cam, 2-liter, 6-cylinder engine fitted into the well-designed twin-tubular chassis layout, which proved ideal to receive coachwork designs by the leading Italian stylists such as Frua, Pinin Farina and Zagato.Some sixty-five A6G/54 chassis were built, of which this car, chassis 2123, was one of seven Read More

Bugatti Automobili S.p.A., in marketing the sensational new EB110, succinctly defined the new project as “the revival of the spirit of Modernism, which characterized the life and work of Ettore Bugatti (1881-1947).” In May 1992 Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. recorded that at the Nardo Test Track in Southern Italy, the Bugatti EB110 GT underwent official acceleration and performance tests.

It was an Italian industrial magnate, Romano Artioli, who had the vision to revive the name and Bugatti as a style Read More

With a gentle clatter from the fuel pump and distant whir from the starter motor, the orchestral 2.4-liter six pot erupts into life. With a low bass burble below 400 rpm, the big triple twin-choke Webers fluff a little at low revs. Above 5,000, the whine of the cams, thrash of the chains and sucking of the carbs conspire to produce a spine-tingling bellow, building to an ear-piercing crescendo as the rev counter spirals past six grand towards the Read More

Vittore Bugatti first entered the Grand Prix arena in 1922 following numerous successes over the previous two years with his 1½-liter 16-valve racing voiturettes. From 1922 to 1925 the regulations imposed a maximum engine capacity of two liters so Bugatti designed a purpose-built straight-eight racing engine which made its debut in a three-car team fitted with cigar-shaped bodies for that year’s French Grand Prix held on July 15, conveniently on roads between Strasbourg and his Molsheim factory. A single Read More

Abarth and Company, a name that was to become synonymous with highly tuned specialist cars based on Fiat mechanical components, opened for business in 1949, manufacturing high-performance mufflers. A year later, Carlo Abarth’s genius for obtaining amazing horsepower from tiny engines became evident with his modifications on the then-new Fiat 600.

Abarths earned class victories in the Mille Miglia, and in America they saw class wins at such events as Lime Rock, Sebring, Nassau and Daytona.

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